Hope Civitan Club Releases Winners In Watermelon Festival Car Show

Fifty-three fabulous vehicles were entered in this year’s Hope Civitan Car Show at the Watermelon Festival, held Saturday, August 13. Trophies were awarded in four top categories and plaques were given to winners in 17 divisions. Entries came from as far away as Fayetteville, as well as many from local car enthusiasts of Hope, Prescott, Nashville, Murfreesboro and other nearby communities. Each vehicle was accompanied by family members and friends of the owners and drivers, and many people came to the Watermelon Festival just to walk among the Car Show entries, admiring the restored conditions of the classic vehicles and the classiness of the newer ones.

The Hope Civitan Club is grateful to the many local businesses and individuals who contributed funds for the trophies and awards or who donated door prizes, which were given throughout the day to car show registrants.

Winners in the top four categories were presented trophies sponsored by New Millennium Building Systems of Hope. They are:

Best of Show Car – Mike Huhn of Fayetteville, 1968 Ford Mustang.

Best of Show Truck – Randy Stewart of Gurdon, 1971 GMC 1500 pickup.

Best of Show Engine – David Chance of Fayetteville, 1965 Ford Cobra.

Best of Show Paint – Wayne Landes of Hope, 1953 Ford Customline.

Winners in all divisions, and award sponsors, were:

Pre 1950 Car/Truck – 1^st–Donald Moore, Camden, 1939 Chevy Muster; 2^nd–Jeff Nelson, El Dorado, 1937 Chevy truck; 3^rd–Gary Clark, Hope, 1947 Ford Coupe. Sponsor–Madlock’s Auto Glass and Body.

1950-1960 Car – 1^st–Wayne Landes, Hope, 1953 Ford Customline; 2^nd–Dee Foster, Hope, 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air; 3^rd–Kirk and Mandy Stone, Murfreesboro, 1951 Ford Victoria. Sponsor–First National Bank of Tom Bean.

1950-1960 Truck – 1^st–Joyce Banes, Nashville, 1954 Chevy truck; 2^nd (tie)–David Stewart, Caddo Valley, 1955 Chevy pickup; 2^nd (tie)–Brandon Rollins, Stamps, 1950 Chevy pickup; 3^rd–Mike Adams, Fulton, 1952 Ford F-100. Sponsor–Randy’s Auto Glass & Collision Center.

1961-1972 Car – 1^st–David Chance, Fayetteville, 1965 Ford Cobra; 2^nd–Gayland Hopper, Murfreesboro, 1962 Chevy Nova; 3^rd–Mike Gaines, Hope, 1968 Chevy Camaro. Sponsor–Wylie Glass & Salvage.

1961-1972 Truck – 1^st–Randy Stewart, Gurdon, 1971 GMC pickup; 2^nd–Bob and Crystal Worthington, Texarkana, AR, 1966 Chevy pickup; 3^rd–Tim McMullan, Hope, 1966 Chevy panel truck. Sponsor–Wylie Glass & Salvage.

1973-1990 Car – 1^st–David Loe, Prescott, 1974 Pontiac Trans Am; 2^nd–Gary Adams, Texarkana, TX, 1987 Pontiac Fiero; 3^rd–Brian Shewbirt, Rosston, 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. Sponsor–Bobcat Freight.

1973-1990 Truck – 1^st– David Satterwhite, Hope, 1979 Dodge pickup; 2^nd–Lane Faulkner, Prescott, 1982 Chevy pickup; 3^rd–Cathy and Ed Sumler, Nashville, 1985 Chevy Silverado. Sponsor–Bobcat Freight.

1991-2000 Car – 1^st–Jason Davis, Prescott, 1995 Ford Thunderbird; 2^nd–David Oller, Hope, 1991 Pontiac Firebird. Sponsor–Yocom Body Shop.

1991-2000 Truck – 1^st–Daniel King, Hope, 2000 Chevy S-10; 2^nd–Richard Harris, Doddridge, 1997 Ford F150. Sponsor–Yocom Body Shop.

2001-Present Car – 1^st—Darin Laughard, Hope, 2015 Dodge Challenger; 2^nd—Brad Hall, Bryant, 2019 Chrysler 300. Sponsor—Funder America.

2001-Present Truck – 1^st—Keith Revels, Washington, 1991 GMC 1500. Sponsor—Funder America.

Corvette 1984-Present – 1^st—Freddie Horne, Nashville, 2004 Corvette; 2^nd—Grant Clark, Hope, 1997 Corvette. Sponsor—Farm Bureau Insurance.

Rat Rod – 1^st—Howard Tippitt, Hope, 1948 Willy truck; 2^nd—Gerry Stephens, Hope, 1980 Chevy Monte Carlo. Sponsor—Randy’s Auto Glass & Collision Center.

Kit Car/Truck – 1^st—Dale Lafferty, Columbus, 1934 Ford Coupe. Sponsor—New Millenium Building Systems.

Import Vehicles – 1^st—Terry Norris, Arkadelphia, 1971 Datsun 240Z; 2^nd—Chelsea Hudson, Texarkana, AR, 1985 Toyota pickup; 3^rd—Allen Dickson, Waldo, 1990 Mazda Miata. Sponsor—Farmer’s Bank & Trust.

Mustang 1964-1993 – 1^st—Mike Huhn, Fayetteville, 1968 Ford Mustang; 2^nd—Curtis Langford, Wake Village, TX, 1973 Ford Mustang; 3^rd—Donna Adams, Fulton, 1968 Ford Mustang. Sponsor–Randy’s Auto Glass & Collision Center.

Mustang 1994-Present – 1^st—Stacey Hannis, Shreveport, LA, 2021 Ford Mustang; 2^nd—Eric Mackey, Hope, 2018 Ford Mustang. Sponsor—First National Bank of Tom Bean.

In addition to the sponsors listed above, other contributors to the Hope Civitan Car Show include Auto Zone, BancorpSouth, Blackmon Exxon Mobile, Linda Blackmon, Crow Burlingame/Bumper to Bumper, Diamond Bank, Farm Credit, The Farm Store, Farmers Insurance – Rodney Orr, Farmers Union Insurance – Brandy Armstrong, Hope Furniture Outlet, Hope Quick Mart, Ivan Smith Furniture, Jeff’s on Main, Klipsch Group, LaGrone Williams Hardware, M&T Plumbing, McDonald’s, Neighbors, Jerry and Twyla Pruden, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Southern Printing, Still’s Auto, University of Arkansas Hope/Texarkana, Wadley Hospital – Hope, and Walmart. Community partners are essential to the success of the car show each year and the Hope Civitan Club appreciates the many donors and volunteers who made this year’s event a success.

To see more pictures of the car show entries, go to the Hope Civitan Club Facebook page.